A fair question might be 'Did they take on too much too soon?" When Past Astoria Regatta Association President Eric Paulson decided serving in that position for two years was quite enough and no one else stepped up initally it was announced there would be no Regatta Festival in 2013 with a possible rebirth in 2014. At that point the association was in search of new leadership which finally came with local chef Peter Roscoe volunteering to take on the top spot and the difficult task of rebuilding the organization. Citizens breathed a sigh of relief and went about their business with a few offering almost immediately to serve on various committees.

Shelby Lofton of Hammond, OR has been named a 2013 Ford Scholar by the Ford Family Foundation. This year, 122 Ford Scholars were selected from an applicant pool of 4,085 students. The scholarship will covers 90 percent of Lofton's unmet financial need for college.

Following a successful fundraising event sponsored by MayorWillis L. Van Dusen at the home of Jordan Schnitzer in June, all funds required tocomplete the Garden of Surging Waves project in downtown Astoria have beensecured. Donors at the event included project supporters from Astoria and aroundthe region.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is seeking public comment on a permit that would allow the City Of Warrenton to replace the aging piles and docks at the city marina with an entirely new moorage system and dredge out the basin.

Getting around Astoria has been a little challenging for local drivers trying to use some their favorite routes to avoid heavy summer traffic through town as construction crews are working on a number of streets for the new city sewer separation project. Dubbed the "11th street CSO project", the work actually covers several streets in the downtown area where crews are digging up some of the roads to place new lines and re-route some old ones. Here's what you can expect this week.

Take an inner tube ride on the Snoqualmie River without a life jacket and you may have something to mark your experience other than a sun tan. State Fish and Wildlife Enforcement officer Kim Chandler may fine you $87.

Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) met with hunger-relief advocates at the Oregon Food Bank West to discuss how proposed cuts to federal nutrition assistance programs will increase the already great burden faced by families and hunger-relief programs in Oregon.

An adult male motorcyclist was seriously injured Thursday morning in a near head-on collision with a small pickup on Highway 26 east of Manning in Washington County. Oregon State Police (OSP) is continuing the investigation.